Harbhajan Singh said India should not play Pakistan in their World Cup match in Manchester on June 16 after the terror attack in Pulwama killed 40 personnel of the CRPF. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the ghastly act.

Harbhajan Singh said India are powerful enough to do well in the World Cup without having to play Pakistan. India will need to forfeit valuable points if they concede their fourth match of the tournament.

"India should not play Pakistan in the world Cup. India are powerful enough to win the World Cup without having to play Pakistan," Harbhajan Singh told Aaj Tak.

He added: "This is a difficult time. The attack that has happened, it was unbelievable and it's very wrong. Strict action will surely be taken by the government. When it comes to cricket, I don't think we should have any relations with them otherwise they will keep treating us like this.

"I don't think we need to have any relations with Pakistan or play any cricket with them.

"I don't think India should play the World Cup match against Pakistan. Country comes first and we are all standing behind our country. Cricket or hockey or sports, it should be kept aside because this is a huge thing and repeatedly our soldiers are killed. We should stand with our country. Cricket or hockey or any sport, we don't need to play with them."

What if India meet Pakistan in the semi-final or the final?

But what if India need to play Pakistan in either the semi-final or the final of the World Cup? Harbhajan said India can cross the bridge when it came to it in that case.

"We are too small to discuss what needs to be done - there are big people sitting in power who can take a call.

"What happens if we have to play Pakistan in the semi-final or final? There's plenty of time for June-July. The people in power will need what to do. But nobody can harm India. What happened in Pulwama is tragic. We are safe today only because of our defence forces," Harbhajan said.

India do not play bilateral cricket with Pakistan and Harbhajan said India should not keep any kind of ties with Pakistan.

"We should not keep any kind of ties with Pakistan: we are powerful enough to feed the world on our own. Cricket, sports is not as important. We stand with every member of the defence force. Their sacrifices should no go to waste. Before cricket, the main things should be sorted out. How that happens can be decided by the government. Till those problems are solved, India should not play cricket or any sport with them," he said.

India withdrew the MFN status for Pakistan the day after the attack and diplomatic efforts are on to isolate Pakistan internationally.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board called the Indian official broadcasters of the Pakistan Super League, DSport's decision to suspend coverage and the removal of Pakistan cricketers' portraits from cricket clubs across India as "regrettable".

Also, IMG Reliance on Sunday pulled out from broadcasting the Pakistan Super League, meaning the PSL will go off air unless the PCB brings in an alternate production service.

"Unfortunately, denying India cricket fans the right to follow HBL PSL by blocking all digital coverage as well as covering or removing portrait of former Pakistan cricket captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan and other legendary cricketers from one of the most historic cricket clubs and venues are highly regrettable actions," the PCB said.

"The PCB intends to take up these incidents with the BCCI and the ICC at the upcoming ICC committee meeting in Dubai later this month."

The Cricket Club of India, among the country's oldest clubs, also joined calls for the national team to stay away from the June 16 match in Britain, as Indians accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop militants from operating on its soil.

Pakistan has denied any involvement in the suicide attack on a military convoy that killed 40 paramilitary police last week, the bloodiest loss by Indian security forces in decades.

"Let's boycott Pakistan in @ICC Cricket World Cup! Let's stand together against the terrorism they are sponsoring," cricket fan Ishan Datta said in a tweet.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) governs world cricket.

Another Indian cricket supporter said India's cricket body, one of the world's richest, should use its influence to force Pakistan out of the ICC.

"Either India will be part of World Cup 2019 or Pakistan. You have enough funds to pull this off," the supporter tweeted.

The Cricket Club of India (CCI) said it supported a boycott of Pakistan at the World Cup in June.

its a shame cricketers are being drawn into the politics of all this. if the ICC were a professional outfit, any refusal to honour the schedule in an ICC tournament should be met with strict punitive measures.

on the flip side, I would hope that Pakistan suspends all attempts at playing India, and concentrated fully on developing its own market which ought to be the second biggest on the planet. just like with the DRS, the indians will come running back, whimpering like they always do.

its one thing to take a stance on proven fact, and quite another to act on wild, politicised speculation.

It would be a win win situation for Pakistan at the moment. This strategy of isolating Pakistan will come back to haunt them. It would be funny if Pakistan makes it to the semis (which they normally do in major events) with the help India conceding points to Pakistan and India on the other hand exiting the tournament (any thing can happen in a game of cricket). The strategy would fall flat on the face.

Although Indian board members are sharp people, dont think they will do this.

It will be the usual Indian response of we cant play Pakistan because it is against our morals and principles except for in ICC tournaments when we forget all our morals and principles because they were never a real thing (in relation to sports ties) anyway.

There is no proof of him being anything more than an Indian who was kidnapped from Iran. The ICJ will rule on India's side, iA

Click to expand...

Even Iran has not claimed that he was kidnapped from Iran. The fact that he has another original passport with a Muslim name tells everything. It’s easier to believe on India staging a false flag operation to defame Pakistan than believing Pakistan actually kidnapping a serving Indian officer from Iran, and Iran remaining mute about it. Interestingly a former raw boss has said recently that he can’t rule out the possibility of tradable being an Indian spy

its a shame cricketers are being drawn into the politics of all this. if the ICC were a professional outfit, any refusal to honour the schedule in an ICC tournament should be met with strict punitive measures.

on the flip side, I would hope that Pakistan suspends all attempts at playing India, and concentrated fully on developing its own market which ought to be the second biggest on the planet. just like with the DRS, the indians will come running back, whimpering like they always do.

its one thing to take a stance on proven fact, and quite another to act on wild, politicised speculation.

Even Iran has not claimed that he was kidnapped from Iran. The fact that he has another original passport with a Muslim name tells everything. It’s easier to believe on India staging a false flag operation to defame Pakistan than believing Pakistan actually kidnapping a serving Indian officer from Iran, and Iran remaining mute about it. Interestingly a former raw boss has said recently that he can’t rule out the possibility of tradable being an Indian spy

Click to expand...

Let me add 2 cents in it.

Since get-go India has been denying that he is a serving Indian officer, however, to this date they failed to provide any prove that Kulbhushan Jadhav took early retirement.

What proof do you want , what was the guy doing in Pak in first place? The claim that he was kidnapped from iran is hilarious, else Iran would have protested with Pakistan.
If Hafiz is in Pak, than a former black listed guy is india's PM!
And you should never talk about proof, proof is something india never come up with, uri, pathankot or the recent incident, not a single proof was provided in any incident.
Imagine india capturing a serving Pak army officer in india with 2 passports and Pak asking for proof that he was indeed captured from india!
Hypocrites!

Ganguly echoed sentiments of his one-time teammate Harbhajan Singh, saying that not playing Pakistan in one group league tie in the upcoming World Cup will not affect India's chances.

However, Ganguly didn't elaborate whether the protest should be symbolic for one game or India should forfeit if they happen to meet Pakistan in semi-final or final.

"This is a 10-team World Cup and each team plays matches against every other team and I feel if India doesn't play a match in the World Cup, it won't be an issue," Ganguly told India TV.

"I feel it will be really difficult for ICC to go on with a World Cup without India. But, you also have to see if India has the power to stop ICC from doing such a thing. But, personally I feel a strong message should be sent," Ganguly added.

Ganguly said India should to cut off all ties with the neighbouring country.

"And, whatever reactions came from the people of India...was right. There is no chance of a bilateral series with Pakistan after this incident. I agree that after this attack, India should not only stop playing cricket, hockey or football with Pakistan but should cut all ties with them," Ganguly said.

they wont do it, but the iCC should suspect india if they decide to bring politics into the tournament. they reckon the ICC willl struggle without india? I dont think so. I wonder how big the Indian cricket industry will be if the ICC bars all international players from playing against them.

New Posts

Post Ratings

About Cricistan

Pakistan Cricket Fan Community. Those 4 words are the basis of this website. Traditionally the Pakistan cricket team have played an exciting brand of cricket which attracts fans from India to England and everywhere in between.